Uzor Arukwe, William Benson, Lateef Adedimeji & More: Meet the AMVCA 2026 Best Lead Actor Nominees

A spotlight on the actors who dominated the 12th AMVCA acting categories. Lateef Adedimeji (in red) earned a historic triple nomination, while Uzor Arukwe (in green) and Femi Branch (in black) achieved rare double nods across the Lead and Supporting Actor categories for the 2026 awards.

The Best Lead Actor race at this year’s AMVCA is, without question, the most competitive the ceremony has seen in recent memory, and the eight nominations assembled for the 12th edition — scheduled for 9 May 2026 in Lagos, with Joke Silva serving as head judge — make a compelling argument for the depth of talent currently working across African film and television.

What is striking about this particular field is not simply the quality of the individual performances, but the range they collectively represent. There is a veteran who traded his usual intensity for something warmer, playing a grieving grandfather whose stubbornness slowly gives way to the chaos and joy two grandchildren drag back into his life. There is a historical epic’s leading man returning to a role he has made entirely his own. There is a crime thriller’s moral centre, a brilliant man whose desperation pulls him into the wrong world, played with a restraint that makes his unravelling feel genuinely devastating. And there is a South African actor, nominated for the first time, whose presence in this category signals exactly the continental ambition the AMVCA has been building toward.

This is not a category you call easily, and that, more than anything, is the point. See the nominees below.

Mike Ezuruonye — Oversabi Aunty

In a film built around Toyin Abraham‘s self-righteous, morality-policing church usher, Mike Ezuruonye plays Chidi — her Igbo husband, the quieter counterweight to her very loud chaos. Chidi’s frustration is conveyed through pauses and expression rather than theatrics, and his comic timing, especially when navigating Yoruba dialogue with an Igbo accent, adds levity without undermining credibility. It is the kind of performance that could easily be overlooked in a film this busy, but Ezuruonye holds the centre of the family story with enough restraint and warmth that you feel his presence even when the camera is not on him. Toyin Abraham herself described working with him as smooth and fulfilling, noting that he delivered beyond what she imagined for the character.  This is Ezuruonye’s first AMVCA Best Lead Actor nomination.

Mike Ezuruonye and Toyin Abraham in a family scene from the comedy film Oversabi Aunty. Photo Credit: Toyin Abraham/Instagram

Lateef Adedimeji — Lisabi: A Legend Is Born

Lateef Adedimeji enters this year’s ceremony as one of the most nominated individuals, achieving a historic triple nod in the acting categories alone. He is nominated for Best Lead Actor for his titular role in ‘Lisabi: A Legend Is Born,” reprising the role of the Egba hero he first brought to life in “Lisabi: The Uprising.” The franchise is one he has poured personal passion into, having served as executive producer on both films alongside his wife, actress Mo Bimpe. His versatility is further on display with two additional Best Supporting Actor nominations for his performances in Gingerrr and Red Circle — a range that very few actors pull off in a single awards cycle.

At the 2025 AMVCA, “Lisabi: The Uprising” won three of its ten nominations — Best Indigenous Language Film (West Africa), Best Art Direction, and Best Makeup. This year he returns with five nominations in total, adding Best Indigenous Film and a Best Makeup nomination.

Lateef Adedimeji as Lisabi leading warriors in the historical epic Lisabi A Legend Is Born. Photo Credit: Adedimeji Lateef/Instagram

Khumbuza Meyiwa — Bet I Love You

The only non-Nigerian in this category, and his nomination signals exactly the kind of pan-African scope the AMVCA has been building toward. “Bet I Love You” follows Rex, a compulsive gambler whose reckless choices lead him to gamble away his sister’s lobola money, diving into themes of family, desperation, and redemption as one man’s addiction spirals into chaos for those closest to him.  Khumbuza Meyiwa, known for The Queen, stars as Rex alongside Nosipho Majola, with the film directed by Nigerian filmmaker Joseph Duke and produced by Urban Brew Studios. The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Joburg Film Festival before streaming on Showmax. This is Meyiwa’s first AMVCA nomination.

William Benson — To Kill A Monkey

The story follows Efemini, a brilliant tech graduate stuck in a dead-end job in Egbeda, Lagos. Bereft of opportunities and suffering personal loss, he is drawn into a cybercrime syndicate by a charismatic old friend, where he becomes the gang’s tech mastermind — while a detective haunted by her own losses closes in on the case. Benson anchors the film’s weighty themes of survival, betrayal, and moral compromise with a deliberate restraint that allows Efemini’s internal struggles to resonate with fierce authenticity. The performance made “To Kill A Monkey” one of the most talked-about Nigerian productions of 2025, holding the number one spot on Netflix upon release. This is Benson’s first AMVCA Best Lead Actor nomination, and it is entirely deserved.

Behind the scenes of the Netflix hit To Kill A Monkey with director Kemi Adetiba and lead actors William Benson and Bucci Franklin. Benson’s portrayal of Efemini secured him his first AMVCA Best Lead Actor nomination. Photo Credit: Kemi Adetiba/Instagram

Kanayo O. Kanayo — Grandpa Must Obey

This nomination marks something of a delightful departure. Kanayo O. Kanayo plays a 70-year-old widower struggling with grief and resentment, whose life takes an unexpected turn when he is forced to babysit his two lively grandchildren. What begins as a stubborn clash of personalities unfolds into a heartwarming story of healing, forgiveness, and rediscovering joy in family bonds. The role marks a departure from Kanayo’s usual roles, giving audiences a chance to see the veteran actor explore warmth, humour, and emotional depth in a family-centred story. For a man whose screen presence has long been associated with intensity and menace, this gentle, comedic turn is a genuine surprise.

Uzor Arukwe — Colours of Fire

When a warrior is sent to hunt a beast believed to be unleashed by his clan’s rivals, he uncovers a darker truth and an unexpected connection. Now he must decide whether to protect his clan’s honour or risk everything for a forbidden love. Uzor Arukwe plays that warrior, and the role demands the full range of what he is capable of — physical presence, emotional vulnerability, and the specific tension of a man caught between loyalty and something that feels more true.

At the 2020 AMVCA, Arukwe received a double nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy for his performances in “Smash” and “Size 12,” and returned in 2025 with a Best Supporting Actor nomination for “Suspicion.” This year he takes his biggest step yet, earning a Best Lead Actor nomination for “Colours of Fire” alongside a Best Supporting Actor nomination for “Behind The Scenes,” making him one of the few performers in this edition to appear in both acting categories at the same time.

Uzor Arukwe stars alongside Osas Ighodaro in the fantasy epic Colours of Fire. Arukwe’s performance as a conflicted warrior earned him a spot in the highly competitive Best Lead Actor category at the 2026 AMVCA. Photo Credit: Anthill Studios/Instagram

Wale Ojo — 3 Cold Dishes

“3 Cold Dishes,” directed by Asurf Oluseyi and written by Tomi Adesina, tells the story of three women who reunite after being trafficked as teenagers and seek justice against those responsible. Wale Ojo plays a role central to that story of reckoning, in a film that received six AMVCA nominations including Best Movie, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Score, and Best Editing alongside his Best Lead Actor nod.

He was nominated at the AMVCA in 2015 and 2018 for Best Actor in a Comedy and Best Supporting Actor respectively, before winning the Best Lead Actor award at the 10th AMVCA in 2024 for his performance in “Breath of Life.” Now back in the same category two years later, the jury has clearly not forgotten what he is capable of.

Femi Branch — Red Circle

Femi Branch delivers a powerful performance as Bashorun Ga’a in “House of Ga’a,” set in the 19th-century Oyo Empire, portraying a ruthless man who rises to power through betrayal and violence, a role that earned him a Best Lead Actor nomination at the 2025 AMVCA. This year he returns with a nomination for “Red Circle,” a crime thriller in which he plays a role rooted in personal struggle and moral conflict, while also earning a Best Supporting Actor nomination for “Owambe Thieves,” a comedy, in the same cycle.